Billy feels a numbness consume him as he takes in the sight and processes everything that just happened in that bloody whirlwind. Voices, scents and sounds are muted and, for a brief moment, he's away in his own little world. A battle of ideas, a barrage of horrifying imagery and a multitude of blessings run around his head. It'd be wise to leave the area but Billy has to literally stop to process all of these events and emotions. This is all deadly serious. He has seen good people and close friends die tonight. No more. With a stern look on his face, Billy takes his rifle off from over his shoulder and back into his grip. "Joshua Orlando Grimmie and Oscar Joseph Ward were good men...brilliant fucking men. They didn't deserve this. They can't fight the good fight anymore so we'll do it for them. Tenfold. We're getting the fuck out of here and if you see Blake, it's on sight." Forget stealth, forget complex tactics. Blake murdered poor young Joshua like a dog in the street. He's going to get what's coming to him.

Reuben slides out from under his barricades. While it was unfortunate for Joshua, Blake shattering the glass from a different point may have spared Reuben's life. If he kept holding on and the glass eventually gave way as one huge piece, chances are it would've crushed and burst him on the spot. It's bleak but a very small silver lining. He walks over to the others, still holding his beloved desk fan that he acquired earlier and frowns slightly. "I am sorry about Joshua, Mr Erich," he says with his deepest condolences and with a trace of guilt for not being able to save him or do anything about it. Of course it isn't Reuben's fault. It's nobody's but Blake's. "We get out now? Yes?"

"Damn right, Reuben my boy," Billy nods and checks his ammo and supplies. He looks back at the room to make sure that Blake isn't ready to pounce. The guy moves like a cat and there's no telling where he's got to. Surveying the room, he obviously cannot ignore the remains of Joshua. Billy's eyes follow a trail of what appears to be Joshua's intestines, laying out on the floor. He turns his head in both horror and sadness. What a way for someone to go. "We're only one floor away from freedom. We're going to double back and try to find a way down to the ground floor via that dead hound filled corridor. Failing that, we can come back in here and take our chances leaping out of a fucking window. It's only one floor up. Although it would mean we have to walk through..." Billy tilts his head back in the direction of Joshua's remains. Potentially leaping out of a window doesn't unnerve Billy but the thought of having to get up close to and walk through what remains of Joshua sends chills down his spine.

Reuben nods and leads the way out of the room, ducking down through the crumbling exit and back into the corridor with the dead mutant hound.

Billy nods and lets out a sigh, forgetting that Erich would be totally unaware of Oscar's death. "Yeah...Oz is gone. We don't know about anyone else. The four of us got lumped together after that blast. We've actually made a pretty good team. We're not going to lose anyone else." Billy doesn't wish to dwell on Oscar's death to spare himself and Erica the guilt after the entire ordeal. He doesn't even wish to imagine what happened to the others as his best friend and two brothers are among them. Out of sight, out of mind...for now. Billy takes Erich's hand in a tight grip and walks out with him, trying his best to help keep Erich stable on his feet. There's a lot of rubble and a bunch of corpses out there, not to mention poor Joshy's innards on the bottom of their shoes. Erich's a bit of a hazard right now. Billy grimaces as the blood is trailed in their tracks.

"Hi!" Reuben says with a soft smile as he's rejoined by Erica. He's hardly on top of the world after narrowly escaping death and witnessing the destruction of Joshua but he's still grateful for small blessings and having Erica by his side is certainly one. She is his favourite person here and they seem to protect one another, making a nice little duo. Intense Covenant sex session aside, he'd like to get to know her better outside of here. Despite being from different walks of life, they've worked well together. Reuben's hopefully shown her that love and humanity still exists while Erica has taught him to toughen up a little. "Are you sure you do not want?" he asks, holding out a pistol once more. Reuben worries about how close Erica will have to get to Blake without a firearm.

As they make their way down the corridor, stepping over and ducking under all sorts, the group finally stumble upon a descending staircase. The one that will take them to ground floor and hopefully to freedom. They gingerly proceed down the final set of stairs in this godawful place. "How do you feel...thirsty, starving and tormented aside?" Billy asks Erich in a low voice, trying to keep as quiet as possible so not to disturb a potential predator. The silence as they descend is eerie and unnerving. There's no way reaching the ground floor and locating the exit is going to be that stress free and easy.

"Back in the old days, my need to control situations pissed a lot of the guys off. Oscar and Scott, namely. Seems like a great trait to have now...under terrible circumstances," Billy says as the near the final steps. He has grown and adapted so well since stepping into this fucked up hell. Billy's old fiery self is still in there but his victim playing and manipulating have taken a back seat. This world has given him some perspective and he's realised that not everything is about him. He's really stepped up to the plate and a lot of his old tendencies have come in handy. "Well...physically I'm OK. Mentally...after watching two friends being obliterated in front of my eyes? I...well...put it this way, I can function right now because we have a task at hand but I'll sure be having night terrors for a good few years," Billy says with a sigh. He knows that once everything is settled and this day is over with, the guilt, sorrow and terror will set in.

Reuben grumbles as the reach the end of the stairs as they're presented with another corridor. They never seem to end in this place and with sharp corners and multiple rooms coming off from them, it's like a murderous fun house. You never know what surprise is lurking around a corner or waiting to jump out from a room. He looks out of the window and despite them being barred up, preventing a quicker escape, Reuben still smiles as he sees daylight and ground level. It's the home stretch. "We are nearly there!" he says gleefully before heading down the corridor, keeping as close to the wall as possible. "Which way we go?" he asks Billy, who seems to be the leader of it all.

"Just continue up the corridor. Forget all these rooms." Billy has clearly abandoned the idea of searching for the others now, as much as it sucks. The only things on his mind are freedom and the sweet possibility of Blake's death. "Just follow the corridor and it should take us to the main area of the building. This is ground floor after all. We might be able to walk out the fucking front door. How much of a miracle would that be?" Billy says with a soft laugh before his heart drops and the conversation stops abruptly.

Just like Reuben's fear of jump scares, Blake obviously leaps out on the unsuspecting group from one of the rooms. He pounces on top of Erica and tackles her to the ground, making sure to apply pressure to her arms so she does not get a chance to swing that Assaultron arm on him. Blake has clearly lost it now, mad at himself and every single event and person involved in this day. This is not how he envisioned his rise to power. He evidently gives no shits about launching himself into the middle of a heavily armed group. It works in his favour though as the tussling around with Erica is prevented Billy from firing his submachine gun in fear of killing her instead.

Reuben springs into action and smites Blake over the head with his beloved desk fan. He knew it'd come in handy. "Fuck!!" Blake yells, holding his head and rolling off of Erica. He quickly flips onto his back, grabs his harpoon gun and fires it at Reuben from a deadly close distance. A loud popping noise is heard followed by a spraying of blood. Reuben falls against the wall and slides down it, leaving a trail of blood on the concrete. Blake fired the harpoon right through the centre of his chest. While the others look on in shock and fear, Blake flees.

Billy fires some shots at Blake now that he's not so close to the others but none seem to kill him. Blake continues to run and turns around the corner. Billy follows in tow, shooting after him. "Erica, you stay with Reuben!!" he yells over the shots. While he knows how much Erica wants to finish Blake off, Billy knows how much it'll mean to Reuben to have her stay with him.

Reuben is clearly not going to pull through after being so severely wounded. It's cruel that Blake didn't get him right in the heart and end it quickly. He whimpers and tries to control his breathing as streams of blood flow from this mouth, chest and back. He holds a shaking hand on the harpoon as if it would somehow help.

Billy continues to chase after Blake with Erich in tow. He sees that Blake is leaving a small trail of blood behind him, indicating that a bullet may have actually impacted him. "Blake, you fucking slimy little cunt! Your time is up!" he yells out, frantically running and following the drops of blood and the distant sound of Blake's feet. Following after him leads the pair to a huge open space. It takes Billy aback after being stuck in narrow corridors and musty rooms all day. The huge reception area is in disarray with corpses of raiders and mutants everywhere, trashed terminals, documents all over the floor and for some reason, nuclear barrels. They seem to be everywhere these days. Still, the huge space is like a precursor to the freedom within their reach...and the front door is only a few feet away. Blake, however, is nowhere to be seen. Billy clutches his gun and keeps to the wall. There are all sorts of offshoots to the area, balconies for vantage, desks for cover...Blake knows this place inside and out. He could be anywhere. "Stay on your toes..."

Reuben looks at Erica as the colour drains from his face and his panic heightens. He is trembling like a leaf and breathing frantically. It's not so much the pain that's getting to him, that is an afterthought. It's the fear of dying mixed in with the shock of the ambush that has knocked him silly. He makes barely audible noises as he keeps trying to speak but with his impacted injury and the terror he's feeling, Reuben can't muster up anything other than frightened whimpers. He keeps one hand on the harpoon and places another on Erica's when she says that she wasn't worth it. Reuben doesn't have much time and can barely speak but he wants to comfort her and make sure that Erica knows that his death is not her fault. His light touch soon turns into a deadly tight grip in a matter of seconds and he spits up nothing but pure blood. "I-I....I...I'M....." Reuben stutters and shakes as his eyes widen in fear and more blood runs down his chin. He can feel himself slipping away from this realm and he's stuck in a panic. "ER-E....I...I...." he continues, trying to fight and hold on but a few seconds later, his grip softly loosens and the light goes out in his eyes as he looks at Erica.

Billy would much rather take his chances out here with Blake and possibly more enemies than stay behind with Reuben and Erica. This gives him a chance to stay hardened and on task. He really liked Reuben and to watch him die, after already seeing two people he cared about meet a sticky end, would be the tipping point. Once Billy breaks down, it's a long road to recovery and he has to be strong in this situation. "Blake!! For once, come out and face us like a man...or are you REALLY that much of a pussy? I'm tired of your shooting and running. I'm tired of your henchmen doing most of the dirty work! I know how badly you want Erich and I dead...you want that satisfaction, right?" Billy teases him, calling out to the room as he inches along the wall with his gun at the ready. He feels safe enough to taunt knowing that Blake is without his harpoon and that he's actually not a great fighter. Blake's all smoke and mirrors. His kills are cheap and below the belt. In a one-on-one battle, Billy will make mincemeat out of him. Billy continues to step gingerly along the wall before he hears a familiar mechanical whirring and clicking. "GET DOWN!!" he calls to Erich, diving behind the old reception desk as machine gun turrets from an overhead balcony start to fire.

As they duck for cover, the sound of frantic footsteps can be heard before the very loud opening of the rusting metal doors. "See you in Hell!!" Blake's voice is heard shouting as a gust of wind enters the building. Out of all the people to escape this death trap in one piece.

"Bastard!!" Billy yells, punching the wood of the desk surrounding him. It cuts deep being outsmarted by someone like Blake. He had been waiting in the wings, praying that Billy and Erich would distract the turrets and give him time to slip out the door. The bullets fire into desk and Billy grits his teeth, keeping his head down and hoping none of them pierce through him. "Erich! Erich, go back and get Erica! I'll take out these turrets!" he calls out over the deafening gunfire.

---

Outside, a little up the hill from the factory, the other four survivors have made a little makeshift campsite and vantage point. Going back into the building was too risky but they didn't want to just up and leave everyone. They had decided to wait it out for a while and even if no one else left that building, at least they would feel well rested. Aside from a few bloatflies, they haven't experienced much bother up here. Nina, Dallas, Dustyn and Riley all sit on a log, guns at the ready as they overlook the building of doom.

"...I swear, I could totally handle it and it'd be a great way for the Brotherhood and Minutemen to truly unite!" Dustyn says with a wink, finishing off a rather lewd suggestion involving himself, Dallas and Riley. The three made quite a team back there, Dallas had already made a remark about Riley's butt and the idea of being sandwiched between two muscular men in power makes Dustyn's knees weak. The morale has certainly picked back up again.

"Well...I...I-...I don't...uh..." Riley says, blushing heavily and looking at Dallas. It was obviously a yes from him but he didn't wish to say it without approval from the official boyfriend. Riley was always considered as straight but in this world? Anything goes. There are slim pickings, nobody is judging and you do just about anything to get your fix of endorphins. "As long as Nina gives us a discount on a room in Goodneighbor..." Riley says quietly before clearing his throat and looking off into the distance, turning all shades of pink.

"Fucking bastard..." Billy mutters to himself, thinking about Blake after Erich leaves the room. He can feel a wave of sadness take over him now that he's alone. Although Erich is just down the corridor, being in a room on his lonesome really amplifies that feeling of loss. Billy swallows the growing lump in his throat and springs into action, firing furiously at one of the turrets until it can take no more, blowing up and sending chunks of metal across the room. To reach the other one, Billy has to move further out into the room to attain a better vantage point. "One...two..." he says quietly, prepping himself before running out into the open and diving behind another desk. Billy fires at the second and final turret, eventually blowing it up but not before it managed to propel a couple of shots into his arm. "Ahhh!!!! FUCK!!!" he yells before gritting his teeth and holding the wound. Blood trickles down his left arm and while it's nothing fatal, it's definitely going to need some attention. When Erich and Erica return, he notices the lack of Reuben. Obviously he wasn't going to make it but false hope is nice. He doesn't dare ask how things went in case it was a horrible passing, which it more than likely was. "We ready to get the fuck out of here?" he grunts, clenching his arm.

---

"Leave the Brotherhood with a...bang!" Dustyn giggles, playfully nudging Dallas. It's not that he's totally forgotten their ordeal in that place or that he believes it's easy sailing from here on out. Dustyn HAS to joke around, change the subject and think positively otherwise he goes to a really dark place. Being on the autism spectrum, he's very prone to depression and escaping through vices. The last thing he wants to do is become an addict again, especially in a scummy world like this. That's truly bottom of the barrel. Dustyn then turns to Riley. "It might feel even better than being with a woman, Ri. I have a really tight..." Dustyn is cut off before he gets the chance to say the obscenity. The conversation is swiftly dropped and Dustyn looks over the hill in fear, his emotive blue eyes widening in fear and glazing over with water.

"Dust? Dustyn what's wrong? What's...?" Riley asks his friend sympathetically before he too is at a loss for words as he sees what has captured Dustyn's eye. "Son of a..." Riley blurts out, swinging into action and grabbing his scope rifle. "Blake alert! Blake!!" he warns the others, wanting them to get their arms ready too. Sure enough, Blake can be seen running away from the building and making a beeline for the hills adjacent to where they're sitting. Riley fires a shot and Blake falls to the ground, rolling around and clutching his left side. "Bingo!". Riley stands up, grabbing a bag of supplies and reloading his gun. "Let's get down there. He's got a lot to answer for."

Dustyn nods but doesn't seem as angry and motivated as the others. He seems...fearful yet disconnected. The sudden shock is making him feel detached from reality. With their history, the cat and mouse games that have been played and the horrid things he did to Dustyn in that building, Blake is like the walking embodiment of Dustyn's darkest nightmares. Hearing his name, seeing his face...it chills Dustyn to the core. A tear falls down his cheek as he looks up at Dallas. "I...I...I don't want him to hurt anymore of us!"

"I'll tie it up when I get out of here. Not spending a second longer in this place," he says with a small grunt as he continues to hold onto his bleeding arm. Billy knows that the outside world is hardly paradise. There will still be enemies aplenty and heaps of rads but compared to this place it's a haven out there. As he saunters over to the door, a gunshot can be heard from outside. Billy jumps back a couple of inches and readies his gun. Could be more raiders, could be mutants or could be a simple civilian capping a ghoul. Leave nothing to chance, though. "Looks like we're not in the land of milk and honey quite yet," he says flatly to Erich and Erica.

Dustyn lets a few more tears run down his face, not actively sobbing but certainly feeling some type of way about this situation. Blake is about 50 feet away from him and all the terror he's endured at his hand comes running back to Dustyn's mind. He looks up at his boyfriend then back over to the wounded Blake, contemplating over the tragic events of his life and what these next few minutes may hold. "No..." he says quietly, wiping the tears from his eyes. Dustyn swallows the lump in his throat and slowly rises to his feet. He's clearly shaken but determined. "I HAVE to get down there. I NEED this closure," he says firmly, locking eyes with Dallas. "Even if I'm not the one who kills him, I need to make sure he's dead." Dustyn takes a swig of whisky for Dutch courage and starts to make his way down the hill.

Riley runs over and bends down, placing his knees on Blake's back to pin him firmly down onto the ground. "This is the last of your nine lives, Blakey boy!" Riley says as he begins to hold Blake's hands behind his back as if placing him under arrest. He fights the squirming and pulls Blake up onto his knees. It's true that Blake isn't all that powerful but even if he was, he still wouldn't be a match for big Riley from Leeds.

"Get off!! You have no idea what you're doing! You're all as good as dead!" Blake feebly warns everyone as he sees the survivors closing in on him. Riley just rolls his eyes at the pathetic remarks.

Billy, Erica and Erich run over to the commotion. Billy sees a group of his friends but also clocks Blake's face so it's a bittersweet moment. They could do without the murderous cunt around. "Jesus, what a reunion, eh?!" Billy chuckles as he starts to walk circles around Blake, who is now the captive in the situation.

Dustyn sheepishly edges in behind Dallas and Blake lights up when he sees him, knowing that Dustyn is his passport out of here. "Dusty!! Dusty, please! Please don't let them do this to me! You know me...I know you...you wouldn't let someone die like this..." Blake whimpers, trying his best to guilt trip Dustyn.

Dustyn reluctantly turns his head away from Blake after hearing his pleas. He doesn't wish to help him in any way, shape or form but knowing that he's aiding in someone's death, no matter how much of a bastard Blake is, doesn't sit well with Dustyn. He can't be cruel or sassy about the situation. Dustyn takes no joy in revenge even if it is highly deserved. He just recoils and hides behind Dallas, holding onto his arm to feel somewhat safer and removed from the situation.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!" Blake spits, lunging forward in Dustyn's direction only to be restrained and brought back to his knees by Riley. "This is your fault, Dustyn!! After everything we've been through?? You're really turning your back and letting me die?? My death is down to you, Dustyn. You have to live with that everyday. You going to proudly tell this story to little Shay or are you going to sweep it under the carpet and pretend it didn't happen??! You're good at that, aren't you?You used to put on a smile for me and act like everything was all rosy meanwhile you were bending over at the sound of every zipper!"

Billy smacks Blake's face with the butt of his gun, busting his nose open as an extreme way of shutting him up. He knows that Blake is just trying to chip away at Dustyn and break him down as he's his only slither of hope but when the slut-shaming comments crop up, Billy has to put a stop to it. He's held that over Dustyn for so long. "Shut the fuck up you pathetic little cunt. I think maybe Dustyn wouldn't be so reluctant to help you if you hadn't kidnap, tormented, abused and killed some of us!". Blake just laughs at everything with blood now pouring down his face, really showing just how unhinged he's become.

"What are we doing with him?" Riley asks, still keeping a strong grip on Blake from behind. Blake isn't exactly going to kill them all but he's a slippery one who seems to have the lives of a cat. Riley isn't taking any chances.

Blake chuckles and throws his head back, looking up at the blinding sun for a moment before tilting to look over at Erich. "I hope that killing me brings you as much joy as it did for me when I redecorated the room with Joshua," Blake says with a nasty smirk, knowing that his comments will hit a nerve. He's about to die anyway so he might as well enjoy some more sadism while he still can. Young Joshua's death was a tragic one but for Blake it was like a trophy kill.

Riley just bows his head in sorrow. For him, Dallas, Nina and Dustyn, this is the first time hearing about Joshua's fate.

"You sure could improvise, Erica...but I doubt you'd be able to hit the spot. That wouldn't be as fun. There's nothing quite like it. That's why Dustyn loves it and always comes back for more!" Blake says with an unsettling laugh. Despite Erica being the one he's replying to, Blake looks over at Dallas as he tries to get a rise out of him. He's always hated him. Of course, it's out of envy and jealousy but he'd never admit that. Dallas is a good man who treats Dustyn well and has him feeling stable and tied down, which of course makes him an asshole in Blake's eyes. He's like the bigger and better replacement model. As soon as Dallas arrived on the scene, Blake was on the scrapheap.

Dustyn has to move away, stumbling a few inches from his boyfriend as the sounds of voices swirl around in his head before becoming muffled. Hearing Blake make light of his rape is too much. He's tried to repress it but hearing it spoke out loud with such vulgarity causes Dustyn to relive it in violent and vivid flashbacks. Out of nowhere, he starts to vomit violently, bringing up the little food he had left in his system.

"ENOUGH!!!" Billy barks, giving him another blow with the butt of his gun, this time on the side of his head. It's old shtick but it still riles Billy up. While things have changed and he's actually moved on and quit the yearning, Billy still has a strong loving connection to Dustyn and a loyalty to him. "I just want to
beat him, strip him, skin him, cut him up and throw him onto a fire for good fucking measure. Decapitate the cunt in the process too. Not risking this slimy little weasel making a return," Billy says through gritted teeth, bending down and grabbing on Blake's hair.

"Seems like Dustyn's gag reflex is actually working for once!" Blake snickers and looks up at everyone who is looming over him. He just can't resist being an asshole as his grave is already dug. No apology or arrangement is going to spare his life so he may as well continue to be a dickhead for a last hurrah. "So is Riley going to hold me down this entire time while you lot get in a few punches or is this going to be a REAL fight? I'd prefer the latter. One last round, eh?"

Blake spits out a few broken teeth as well as a heap of blood and other ghastly stuff from all the blows to the mouth and nose. "Speaking of eyes, how did Reuben's look when his lights went out? I missed that part," he says to Erica with his vile bloodied mouth. Out of all the people to kill, Blake went for the young men who had a lot to offer. Again, his envy and jealousy got the better of him. Reuben was sweeter, happier and more hopeful than Blake could ever be while Joshua's drive, wit and intelligence superseded Blake tenfold. "So are you guys actually going to kill me or is it all talk? I'm sure I'd already be a goner if Joshua was here. Shame he didn't make it. Come on, less punchy, more shooty!" he teases before laughing like the maniac he is.

Dustyn holds onto himself, wrapping his arms across his chest in a tight hug. A wave of conflicting emotions churn and toss inside of him as the voices continue to mumble behind him. He feels raging anger towards Blake as well as guilt and shame over his promiscuous days...then he grows angry at himself for letting Blake make him feel this way. No matter how hard Dustyn tries to mature, move on and take ownership of his life, his softer and vulnerable side always comes out and eventually gets the better of him. He yearns to be hardened like the others but when things heighten, Dustyn usually breaks down. He listens in as Dallas kicks Blake, wishing he was the one doing the beating. He's more than justified. When Dallas returns and asks if he wants to go, Dustyn shakes his head and sniffles. "I can't...I want to...but I can't. I need to make sure he's gone. I can't turn my back on him."

"There's a first..." Blake says with a nasty little chuckle, tilting his head back and not even caring that it's pressing right up against the barrel of Erich's gun.

Dustyn sucks in air through gritted teeth and clenches his fists before storming over towards Blake. Billy watches on tenterhooks, wondering what is about to go down while fearing for Dustyn's safety. Although Blake is restrained by the muscular Riley, Billy still hates to idea of Dustyn being in close proximity to him. Dustyn has had enough. It's now or never. He belts Blake across the face with such force that he almost slips out of Riley's grip. "That's for all those years of slut-shaming me!!" he yells, sounding scarily unlike his usual self. Dustyn never raises his voice like this. It's deep, it's booming and assertive unlike his regular chipper and melodic usual way of talking. "That's for trying to guilt-trip me all the time! That's for not showing up on Shay's first birthday! That's for all the constant fucking mind games! That's for abusing me in front of my son! That's for saying Hard Candy is Madonna's best album, it's her worst! That's for kidnapping us! That's for my friends! That's for all the shit that you put me through in there! And this one is for good luck!" Dustyn lists off a bunch of things that earn Blake a good punching, giving him the said punch between each item.

Blake spits out more blood and looks up at Dustyn in shock. His eyes begin to water, a mixture of fearful tears and a result of many blows to the nose. Blake always wanted a reaction from Dustyn but he had no idea he'd snap this hard. "I'm sorry...." he says quietly, looking down at the ground as he begins to well up. It's not a plea or a huge heartfelt apology but it's said in a way that makes everyone aware that he's not being sarcastic. Even he knows how justified Dustyn is right now and if anyone should be beating on him, it should be his ex.

Dustyn holds his hand out at Erich, gesturing for him to give him his shotgun.